Message storage device and a moving image message processor

ABSTRACT

A message storage device  114  configured to store users&#39; messages electronically. The message storage device  114  is configured to interact with a user&#39;s electronic device  100,101,104,105,108,110,113  for transmitting a message to and/or receiving a message from the storage device in a manner dependent on the functionality of the user&#39;s electronic device  100,101,104,105,108,110,113.  Also described is a moving image message processor in which an input moving image message stream including at least one first key frame is processed to include second key frames at a predefined time interval apart. Also described is a message storage device  114  including a controller configured to control movement of encoded video messages to and from a store and a processor depending on at least one predefined condition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.61/488,203, titled “A MESSAGE STORAGE DEVICE AND A MOVING IMAGE MESSAGEPROCESSOR”, filed on May 20, 2011, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. This application is also related toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/488,197, titled “A MOVING PICTURECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM” filed on May 20, 2011, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a message storage device and a movingimage message processor.

Described embodiments relate to a method and system for providing avideo-enabled enhancement of audio voicemail features to users ofvideotelephony networks in an enterprise environment, particularly inlarge enterprises with 5000 or more people.

Electronic voice communications today are carried out by a great varietyand range of devices, such as traditional land-line or fixed-linetelephones and mobile phones as well as smartphones. Today, land-linetelephones mainly have a dual-tone multi-frequency signalling (DTMF) orTouch-tone keypads including numeral keys 0 to 9 as well as a “*” keyand a “#” key together with, in enterprise environments, some extrafunction keys to, for example, transfer calls, put a caller on hold oraccess voicemail. Mobile telephones typically also have DTMF keypads,but also some other function keys which vary in number and function frommanufacturer to manufacturer and model to model. Some of these functionkeys may be user definable. Smartphones, on the other hand, typicallyhave a touch-screen which defines keys whose number and function may bevaried and defined both by a user, an app or application running on thesmartphone or from an external input. A DTMF keypad may be defined aswell as other arrangements.

Recently, real-time video communications (also including voice) havebecome more wide spread and may be carried out using a great variety ofdevices including smartphones, typically using proprietary videonetworks such as Apple Facetime (registered trade mark) or Skype(registered trade mark) (both also useable using a standard desktop orlaptop personal computer), as well as fixed-line systems often seen inenterprise environments such as (1) “all-in-one” personalvideoconferencing telephones or video-enabled Internet protocol (IP)telephones, such as the Tandberg T150, that look much like aconventional fixed-line phone with the addition of a camera; (2)videoconferencing room systems or Integrated Services Digital Network(ISDN) videoconferencing devices, such as the Tandberg Telepresence T3;and (3) IP videoconferencing endpoints or software plug-ins forgeneral-purpose computers connected to voice-only telephones, such asthe Cisco VT Advantage. All of these devices have differentfunctionality and capabilities, including different user interfaces anddifferent screen sizes, resolutions and configurations.

A “video-voicemail” system is an arrangement in which a caller callinganother person's device (the callee) is provided with a recorded messageif the callee is not available typically along the lines of, “This isBob's phone. Please leave a message after the tone”. The caller isprovided with the ability to record a message for the callee such as“Please call me when you are free”. In a video-voicemail environment,these messages may include video, such as of the caller or calleespeaking, as well as audio.

As a result of the great variation in accessing devices described above,compatibility of enterprise “video-voicemail” systems for video andaudio calls has been problematic and a reliable service has not beenavailable. This is one reason why such systems have not become widelyaccepted.

Known video/voicemail systems are typically tied to one specific videonetwork such as Apple Facetime (registered trade mark), and are littlemore than a video equivalent of an answerphone where the caller canleave a message and the callee can retrieve it. Advanced features (forexample, folders, group mailboxes, message forwarding, and messagemulticast and broadcast) found in voice-only enterprise-class voicemailsystems are not found in known video/voicemail systems.

Embodiments of the invention described herein address these problems oflack of cross-video-network compatibility and features to provide avideo/voicemail system that may be used with great variation in thefunctionality of accessing devices or endpoints.

Video data for video/voicemail systems requires large amounts ofelectronic data and thus it is compressed both for storage (to reducethe storage space required to manageable levels) and transmission (toreduce bit rates required to manageable levels).

There are differences in functionality between video endpoints. Forexample, there may be differences in video compression protocols thatthey can handle, and differences in permitted image sizes. Embodimentsof the invention described herein provide a video/voicemail system tohandle these differences effectively and efficiently.

Another reason why video-voicemail systems have not been widely acceptedis usability. In audio-only voicemail systems, audio data is typicallystored uncompressed because little electronic data needs to be stored torepresent the voicemail and it can be transmitted at a low bitrate.During playback of audio-only voicemail messages, users have become usedto precisely being able to fast forward or rewind the message to, forexample, listen again to a telephone number that has been said. Asvoicemail data is typically uncompressed, this is simple to implement.

In contrast, for video systems, as mentioned above, video data requiresrelatively large amounts of electronic data and thus it is compressedboth for storage and transmission. The compression of the data isgenerally optimised to minimise bit rate and latency. For example usingthe H.264 format, greatly simplified, compression is done by sending astarting frame (key frame or intra frame) including a full image andsubsequent difference frames which describe how parts of the image havechanged since previous frames. In other words, the key frames aredecodeable independently of other image frames while subsequent framesare decodeable dependent on other frames. Keyframes require relativelylarge amounts of storage space and bandwidth or bit rate compared todifference frames. Thus to reduce these requirements, the number of keyframes is minimised. In a broadcast video system such as digital TV, keyframes are sent at regular short intervals so that, for example, whensomeone changes to a new channel a TV will only after a short delayreceive a key frame and will therefore be able to start displayingvideo. However, in a videoconferencing network the receiver is able tosend messages to the transmitter. This enables the receiver to requestthat the transmitter send a key frame. Thus, the video network is ableto avoid sending key frames at all unless they are actually needed,allowing the bit rate to be kept low.

A video stream stored in a voicemail system using a file formatted inthis way may be readily played from start to finish. However, usersrequire to fast forward and rewind video messages or, in other words,seek to a point in the video stream and the methodology described aboveof storing and transmitting video data means that this is not possiblein a way that provides a good user experience. This is because arequired image at a particular point in time is likely to be representedonly by a difference frame. Thus, to display the image represented atthis point in time the other frames required to decode the differenceframe must be sought and themselves decoded. This is a time consumingprocess and leads to jerky and/or slow “fast” forwarding or rewindinggiving a very poor user experience. Embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein address this problem to effectively provide a good userexperience and smooth fast forwarding and rewinding of video invoice/video mails.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention in its various aspects is defined in the independentclaims below to which reference should now be made. Advantageousfeatures are set forth in the dependent claims.

Arrangements are described in more detail below and take the form of amessage storage device configured to store users' messageselectronically. The message storage device is configured to interactwith a user's electronic device for transmitting a message to and/orreceiving a message from the storage device in a manner dependent on thefunctionality of the user's electronic device. Also described is amoving image message processor in which an input moving image messagestream including at least one first key frame is processed to includesecond key frames at a predefined time interval apart. Also described isa message storage device including a controller configured to controlmovement of encoded video messages to and from a store and a processordepending on at least one predefined condition.

Embodiments described provide compatibility to users of video telephonyequipment to that previously only enjoyed by audio telephony equipmentusers, and furthermore greatly enhances that functionality with featuresappropriate to devices with video capabilities.

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a messagestorage device configured to store users' messages, the message storagedevice being configured to interact with a user's electronic device fortransmitting a message to and/or receiving a message from the storagedevice in a manner dependent on the functionality of the user'selectronic device.

This arrangement provides a video/voicemail system that may be used withgreat variation in the functionality of accessing devices or endpoints.

The message storage device may store messages comprising audio andvideo. It may interact with a user's electronic device in a mannerdependent on the user's electronic device comprising: a telephone fortransmitting and receiving audio-only messages, or a videophone fortransmitting and receiving audio and video messages. If the former, themessage storage device may interact with a user's electronic device suchthat only audio of a message stored as video and audio is transmitted tothe telephone.

The message storage device may interact with a user's electronic devicein a manner dependent on the user's electronic device comprising adisplay configurable by the message storage device, and/or on thedisplay being a touch sensitive display.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodfor a message storage device configured to store users' messagesinteracting with a user's electronic device for transmitting a messageto and/or receiving a message from the message storage device, themethod comprising: the message storage device interacting with theuser's electronic device in a manner dependent on the functionality ofthe user's electronic device.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a movingimage message processor configured to process an input moving imagemessage stream into a processed moving image message stream, the inputmoving image message stream comprising a first plurality of image framescomprising: at least one first key frame, the or each first key framecomprising a representation of an image decodeable independently ofother image frames of the first plurality of image frames; and firstframes decodeable dependent on other image frames of the first pluralityof image frames; and the processed moving picture message streamcomprising: second key frames at a predefined time interval apart, eachof the second key frames comprising a representation of an imagedecodeable independently of other image frames of the second pluralityof image frames; and second frames between second key frames decodeabledependent on other image frames of the second plurality of image frames.

This arrangement effectively provides a good user experience byproviding the facility for smooth fast forwarding and rewinding of videoin voice/video mails.

The input moving image message stream may comprise a plurality of firstkey frames each a different first key frame time interval apart. Thedifferent first key frame time intervals may be unpredictable. Thepredefined time interval between all key frames may be predictable. Thepredefined time interval may be limited by at least one predefinedconstraint.

Key frames of the processed moving picture message stream may eachcomprise an identifying mark. The moving picture message processor maycomprise a generator configured to generate a key frame index comprisingan indication of the location of key frames in the processed movingpicture message stream. These arrangements provide the facility forquick and accurate fast forwarding and rewinding of video in voice/videomails.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodof processing an input moving image message stream into a processedmoving image message stream, the method comprising: inputting an inputmoving image message stream comprising a first plurality of image framescomprising: at least one first key frame, the or each first key framecomprising a representation of an image decodeable independently ofother image frames of the first plurality of image frames; and firstframes decodeable dependent on other image frames of the first pluralityof image frames; and processing the input moving image stream into aprocessed moving picture message stream comprising: second key frames ata predefined time interval apart, each of the second key framescomprising a representation of an image decodeable independently ofother image frames of the second plurality of image frames; and secondframes between second key frames decodeable dependent on other imageframes of the second plurality of image frames.

In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided amessage storage device for storing video messages received at themessage storage device electronically, the message storage devicecomprising: a store for storing encoded video messages; a processor forprocessing encoded video messages; and a controller configured tocontrol movement of encoded video messages to and from the store and theprocessor depending on at least one predefined condition.

This arrangement allows a video/voicemail system to handle differencesin, for example, screen resolution and video compression protocols indifferent video-enabled endpoints effectively and efficiently.

The at least one predefined condition may comprise processing load ofthe processor, spare storage capacity of the store, the time, capabilityof a device used to transmit the encoded video message to the messagestorage device, and/or the size of an encoded video message and/or beingbased on a feature of a recipient of an encoded video message (thefeature may comprise the location of the recipient of an encoded videomessage) and/or the age of an encoded video message and/or being basedon the frequency at which a recipient of an encoded video message haspreviously accessed the encoded video message and/or at least onecapability of at least one device expected to retrieve the encoded videomessage from the message storage device (this is because the recipientof a message may have used one or more devices to have accessed themessage storage device) and/or the history of the video playbackcapabilities of devices used in past access of the message retrievalsystem by the recipient.

The processor may be configured to encode video messages at a pluralityof resolutions and/or using a plurality of compression protocols.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodof electronically storing video messages received at a message storagedevice in the message storage device, the method comprising: controllingmovement of encoded video messages to and from a store for storingencoded messages of the message storage device and a processor forprocessing encoded video messages of the message storage devicedepending on at least one predefined condition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in more detail, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a video communications network including amessage storage device embodying an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of call flow for a user using an endpoint toleave a message in the message storage device of FIG. 1 embodying anaspect of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of part of the message storage device ofFIG. 1 embodying an aspect of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another part of the message storagedevice of FIG. 1 embodying an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An example message storage device or video/voice mail system will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

A communications system 80 including an enterprise network 107 forvoice/video communications is illustrated in FIG. 1. The network isconnected to the external video communications network, via voice orvoice and video gateway 106,116 using a standard protocol such as H.323or session initiation protocol (SIP) for Internet transmission 112 (or aproprietary protocol) or via the public switched telephone network 102.

A variety of users' electronic devices or endpoints100,101,104,105,108,110,113 with different functionality are connectedto the network 107. These users' devices include an IP telephone 101including a video adjunct 100 (described in the US patent applicationconcurrently filed with the present application with the title “A MOVINGPICTURE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM” incorporated herein by reference asreferred to above), an IP telephone 110 without a camera and with a highresolution colour LCD display, a voice-only IP telephone 104, a voiceonly IP telephone linked with a general-purpose computer with anappropriate software plug-in for video calling 105, a videoconferencingroom system 113, and a video-capable IP telephone 108, that is to say anIP telephone with a camera and a high resolution colour LCD display.

A call control system 109 and a video/voicemail system or messagestorage device 103 are also connected to the network 107. Thevideo/voicemail system 103 is connected to storage subsystems 114capable of keeping or storing messages comprising audio and video (videois stored in a compressed format), or audio only. The video/voicemailsystem 103 also has associated software and protocols for communicatingwith the video communications network 107, and endpoints or user devices100,101,104,105,108,110,113.

The video/voicemail system or message storage device 103 is configuredto store users' messages electronically on storage sub-system 114. Thisstorage subsystem may for example be a locally attached disk or array ofdisks, or a storage area network (SAN) or a network file system. Thevideo/voicemail system is configured to interact with a user'selectronic device or endpoint 100,101,104,105,108,110,113 fortransmitting a message to and/or receiving a message from the storagedevice in a manner dependent on the functionality of the user'selectronic device.

The video/voicemail system 103 is connected to the call control system109. The nature of this connection depends on the type and extensibilityof the call control system. It may use either extensions to standardprotocols such as H.323 or SIP or may augment the standard protocolconnection with a proprietary additional protocol.

The system 103 may be loosely coupled to an existing standards-basedcall control mechanism using standard protocols such as H.323 or SIP. Inthis configuration, existing user-generated signalling mechanisms suchas DTMF signalling (using standard telephone keys, namely numerals 0 to9 as well as “*” and “#”) or the standardized Far-End Camera Control(FECC) videoconferencing protocol (allowing the user to sendleft/right/up/down/focus messages to the far end of a call) are used toallow control of the video/voicemail system or server by a user.Alternatively, a proprietary protocol is used for communications betweenthe video/voicemail system rather than a standard protocol to providetight coupling between the call control system 109, the endpoints100,101,104,105,108,110,113 and the video/voicemail system 103 to allowthe video/voicemail system to interact with an endpoint dependent on theendpoint's functionality. In this configuration, more advancedsignalling mechanisms may be deployed which allow the video/voicemailsystem better control over the endpoint and thus provide the user with amore intuitive user interface such as a touch-screen graphical userinterface (GUI) with which to control the video/voicemail system orserver.

Using the latter configuration, by way of example, the video/voicemailsystem 103 interacts with an endpoint 100,101,104,105,108,110,113depending on the endpoint being a telephone 104 for transmitting andreceiving audio-only messages, or a videophone 100,101,105,108,109 fortransmitting and receiving audio and video messages. If the endpoint isa telephone 104 for transmitting and receiving audio-only messages and amessage has been stored as audio and video only the audio is transmittedto the telephone. If the endpoint has a display configurable by themessage storage device, such as a touch sensitive display ortouch-screen, then the video/voicemail system may transmit data forconfiguring the display, such as to display and provide functionality tobuttons for controlling the video/voicemail system such as buttons tofast forward or rewind a video/voicemail message. The video/voicemailsystem may also interact with an endpoint depending on the screenquality of the endpoint, such as its size, resolution, configuration,aspect ratio, or range of displayable colours as well as the video imageformats it can handle.

Call Flows

When a caller places a call to a callee the protocol (H.323 or SIP oranother standard or proprietary protocol) enables the caller to requestcertain media channels (audio and or video), to declare capabilities fordecoding different types of media or combinations thereof and torecommend preferences for the types of channels to be opened. If thecallee diverts the call to the video/voicemail system then thevideo/voicemail system will receive this information and can use it todetermine what media types are recorded and what video formats, if any,are used. In other words, the functionality of the user's electronicdevice is ascertained through information received at thevideo/voicemail system or message storage device from the user'selectronic device. The functionality may be obtained directly from theinformation or by inference from the information.

By way of example, there are several possible procedural flows for thesystem including the following, which reflect the video/voicemail systeminteracting with an end point dependent on the functionality of theendpoint.

Internal Call from Tightly Integrated Video Phone

This example describes the call flow from an IP telephone 101. This is adevice which is tightly integrated with the call control system 109, inthis example using a proprietary protocol, and therefore allows the callcontrol system and the voicemail system to control the telephone's userinterface (for example the display and “soft” (user-definable) keys). Byvirtue of the device being tightly integrated, the voicemail system mayask the phone for information about its capabilities and can adjustaspects of the media, such as choice of codecs and image resolution, tosuit. In other words, the functionality of the user's electronic deviceis ascertained directly through information received at thevideo/voicemail system.

A caller using device IP telephone 101 places a call to a callee havinga video capable IP telephone 108. The callee either ignores the call orchooses to divert the call to video/voicemail by pressing a key on theirtelephone or the call is diverted by policy. The call is thentransferred to video/voicemail system 103. The video/voicemail systemplays a pre-recorded video of the called person on the caller'stelephone asking the caller to leave a message. The caller is thenguided through the process of leaving a message using on-screen menusand prompts on their IP telephone. The caller can select options usingthe touch-screen on their telephone 101. The caller may also be givenother on-screen options such as redirecting the call, for example to thecallee's personal assistant (PA) or manager, or re-recording themessage. Once a message has been left by the caller, an indication isgiven on the callee's telephone 108 to indicate that a message iswaiting for them, such as a lamp being lit.

Call from Loosely Integrated Video Phone

This example describes the call flow from a standards based videoendpoint. This is the most likely call flow for users of H.320 ISDNvideo endpoints calling into a company via the gateway 106 from theexternal public switched telephone network 102, or for users of H.323video endpoints calling into a company via the gateway 116 from theInternet 112. The call flow from the two types of gateway 106 or 116 aresimilar and they are illustrated in the flow diagram in FIG. 2.

Using a standards-based video capable IP telephone, a caller places acall to a callee who has a video-capable IP telephone, via an externalvoice and video gateway 106 or 116 (reference 202). During call setup,the calling standards-based endpoint will send a list of itscapabilities. In other words, the functionality of the user's electronicdevice is ascertained directly through information received at thevideo/voicemail system. The list includes types of video and audiocodecs, available image resolutions and permitted combinations thereof.The callee either ignores the call or chooses to divert the call tovoicemail by pressing a key, or the call is diverted by policy. The callis then transferred to the video/voicemail system 204. The informationabout the caller's device capabilities are either retransmitted by thecaller's endpoint during the call transfer process, or they are kept bythe call control system and passed to the video/voicemail system duringthe call transfer process. This allows the video/voicemail system toknow the capabilities of the caller's endpoint and to adjust the videorecording codec parameters accordingly.

The video/voicemail system then plays a pre-recorded video (includingaudio) of the called person asking the caller to leave a message 206.The caller is then guided through the process of leaving a message usingon-screen menus and prompts. The caller may select options using theDTMF keys on their telephone. The video/voicemail system may also allowthe user to control the process of leaving messages using the far endcamera control protocol (FECC) found as part of the video callingstandard (e.g. H.323 or SIP).

The caller may also be given other on-screen options such as redirectingthe call, for example to the callee's PA or manager, or re-recording themessage. A video of the caller (including audio) is streamed to thevideo/voicemail system and recorded by the video/voicemail system 210.Once a message has been left by the caller, the message storage deviceor video/voicemail system transmits to the user's electronic device ortelephone an indication that a message has been received. In response,an indication is given on the callee's telephone to indicate that amessage is waiting for them, such as a lamp being lit 212. Optionally,an electronic video file (including audio) may be sent by e-mail to thecallee 214.

Call from Audio-Only Phone

This example describes the call flow from a traditional audio-onlytelephone. This may be an internal telephone 104. This is also the mostlikely call flow for users of conventional telephones calling into acompany via the gateway 106 from the external public switched telephonenetwork 102, or for organisations using audio-only Internet Telephonycalling into a company via the gateway 116 from the Internet 112. If auser calls in from the PSTN, the gateway 106 will know that the calleris on a voice-only device because of the telephony signaling used orbecause of the physical connection that the gateway has. Thisinformation is passed to the call control system 109. If a user calls infrom the Internet or from an internal telephone 104, the call setupinformation contains only voice capabilities, so the call control system109 will know that it is a voice-only call. From this point onward, thecall flow from the two types of gateway 106 or 116 or from an internaltelephone 104 are similar.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a caller using a voice-only (audio-only) IPtelephone 104 places a call to a callee who has a video-capable IPtelephone 108. The callee either ignores the call or chooses to divertthe call to voicemail by pressing a key or the call is diverted bypolicy. The call is then transferred to video/voicemail system 103. Thevideo/voicemail system plays either the audio from a pre-recorded videoor a separate audio recording of the called person asking the caller toleave a message. The caller is then guided through the process ofleaving a message using voice prompts. The caller may select optionsusing the DTMF keys on their telephone. The caller may also be givenother spoken options such as redirecting the call to the callee's PA ormanager, or re-recording the message. Once a message has been left bythe caller, the message storage device or video/voicemail systemtransmits to the user's electronic device or telephone an indicationthat a message has been received. In response, an indication is given onthe callee's telephone to indicate that a message is waiting for them,such as a lamp being lit 212.

Message Retrieval from Tightly Integrated Video Phone

A caller using a video-capable IP telephone 108 dials in tovideo/voicemail system 103. Video/voicemail system offers an interactivegraphical user interface (GUI) to the user on the touch-screen of theirtelephone 108. The GUI provides access to new messages, saved messagesand the folder hierarchy. It also provides access for configuration ofthe behaviour of the video/voicemail system for example with regard tohandling of incoming messages. The caller selects a message using atouch-screen on their telephone. The video/voicemail system plays thevideo and audio of the selected message. The telephone 108 providesgraphical means for instructing the video/voicemail system to seekwithin a message during playback. Telephone 108 provides graphical meansfor instructing the video/voicemail system 103 to forward the message toother mailboxes. The GUI for forwarding a message may includeintegration with enterprise or local directory systems such as LDAP.

1. A message storage device configured to store users' messages, themessage storage device being configured to interact with a user'selectronic device for transmitting a message to and/or receiving amessage from the storage device in a manner dependent on thefunctionality of the user's electronic device.
 2. A message storagedevice according to claim 1, wherein the message storage device storesmessages comprising audio and video.
 3. A message storage deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the message storage device interacts witha user's electronic device in a manner dependent on the user'selectronic device comprising: a telephone for transmitting and receivingaudio-only messages, or a videophone for transmitting and receivingaudio and video messages.
 4. A message storage device according to claim3, wherein the message storage device interacts with a user's electronicdevice such that only audio of a message stored as video and audio istransmitted to the telephone.
 5. A message storage device according toclaim 1, wherein the message storage device interacts with a user'selectronic device in a manner dependent on the user's electronic devicecomprising a display configurable by the message storage device.
 6. Amessage storage device according to claim 5, wherein the message storagedevice interacts with a user's electronic device in a manner dependenton the display being a touch sensitive display.
 7. A message storagedevice according to claim 1, wherein the message storage device isconfigured to transmit to the user an indication that a message has beenreceived.
 8. A message storage device according to claim 1, wherein themessage storage device is configured to be controlled by a user.
 9. Amessage storage device according to claim 8, wherein the message storagedevice is configured to be controlled by a user using Far-End CameraControl (FECC) protocol. 10-18. (canceled)
 19. A moving image messageprocessor configured to process an input moving image message streaminto a processed moving image message stream, the input moving imagemessage stream comprising a first plurality of image frames comprising:at least one first key frame, the or each first key frame comprising arepresentation of an image decodeable independently of other imageframes of the first plurality of image frames; and first framesdecodeable dependent on other image frames of the first plurality ofimage frames; and the processed moving picture message streamcomprising: second key frames at a predefined time interval apart, eachof the second key frames comprising a representation of an imagedecodeable independently of other image frames of the second pluralityof image frames; and second frames between second key frames decodeabledependent on other image frames of the second plurality of image frames.20. A moving picture message processor according to claim 19, whereinthe input moving image message stream comprises a plurality of first keyframes each a different first key frame time interval apart.
 21. Amoving picture message processor according to claim 19, wherein thedifferent first key frame time intervals are unpredictable.
 22. A movingpicture message processor according to claim 19, wherein the predefinedtime interval between all key frames is predictable.
 23. A movingpicture message processor according to claim 19, wherein the predefinedtime interval is limited by at least one predefined constraint.
 24. Amoving picture message processor according to claim 19, wherein theprocessed moving picture message stream is stored in a store.
 25. Amoving picture message processor according to claim 19, wherein keyframes of the processed moving picture message stream each comprise anidentifying mark.
 26. A moving picture message processor according toclaim 19, comprising a generator configured to generate a key frameindex comprising an indication of the location of key frames in theprocessed moving picture message stream. 27-34. (canceled)
 35. A messagestorage device for storing video messages received at the messagestorage device electronically, the message storage device comprising: astore for storing encoded video messages; a processor for processingencoded video messages; and a controller configured to control movementof encoded video messages to and from the store and the processordepending on at least one predefined condition.
 36. A message storagedevice according to claim 35, wherein the at least one predefinedcondition comprises processing load of the processor.
 37. A messagestorage device according to claim 35, wherein the at least onepredefined condition comprises spare storage capacity of the store. 38.A message storage device according to claim 35, wherein the at least onepredefined condition comprises the time.
 39. A message storage deviceaccording to claim 35, wherein the at least one predefined conditioncomprises capability of a device used to transmit the encoded videomessage to the message storage device.
 40. A message storage deviceaccording to claim 35, wherein the at least one predefined conditioncomprises the size of an encoded video message.
 41. A message storagedevice according to claim 35, wherein the at least one predefinedcondition is based on a feature of a recipient of an encoded videomessage.
 42. A message storage device according to claim 41, wherein thefeature comprises the location of the recipient of an encoded videomessage.
 43. A message storage device according to claim 35, wherein theat least one predefined condition comprises the age of an encoded videomessage.
 44. A message storage device according to claim 35, wherein theat least one predefined condition is based on the frequency at which arecipient of an encoded video message has previously accessed theencoded video message.
 45. A message storage device according to claim35, wherein the at least one predefined condition comprises at least onecapability of at least one device expected to retrieve the encoded videomessage from the message storage device.
 46. A message storage deviceaccording to claim 35, wherein the processor is configured to encodevideo messages at a plurality of resolutions and/or using a plurality ofcompression protocols. 47-58. (canceled)